Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1887-06-04

of shoes, and in payment threw down
a double eagle. The proprietor took it
and gave him the proper change with
out any hesitation. 'He may not be n
Judge of CON- ! said after we left the
store.
well. let us try some N that is an
expert" W. entered n bank and he
threw several Of the pieces on the
counter and said;
please give me change for one Of
these, and be good enough to examine
them closely, as | have reason to suS-
pect they may be bogus"
THE banker weighed them and then
applied an acid test. They are all
right" he said, "and if You are afraid
of them l will take all You have off
your hands and give you currency in
their plSce.'
mo, thank you, l only wished 10
be satisfied they are good
! was astounded and convinced that
the money was as good as the genuine.
And now a new phase in the conduct
of my associate was developed. At
first he began TO enlarge on the splcn-
doris of a career with illimitablc wealth
at ones command. And then he adj
vanced a step, and suggested that we
should obtain some of this gold, and
then go Il way through the world re-
ioieing. He was in a position to OBJ
tain all that we required at a mere
song. l had told him about the piano.
rama venture, and he proposed that
we should redeem it, purchase wagon
and horses and 90 through the coun-
try, ostensibly giving panoramic cXhi-
billions, but in reality distributing the
coin.
II tell you,n he said, 81 know how
we can carry all the gold we want.
We will bore full of holes the bar that
crosses under the box and fill the holes
with twenty-dollar pieces. Nobody
would ever think of looking for it in
any such place.
Thus did he ply me for several days.
| listened to him with Il lively curiosi-
ty. His plan seemed safe, feasible and
certain to be productive of unlimited
wealth. Often in looking back ut this
period of my life | wonder that | did
not yield to his g%littering promises. |
was entirely alone. | had failed dis
aStrously in business, and saw no hope
in the gloomy future. | was in that
condition when cared for nobody and
nobody seemed to care for me. For
some reason, however, | never reached
the conscnting point. | was interested
and delighted, and without any %consci-
entious ~scruples heard him discuss
measures for placing his gold on the
public which knew, whatever the as
scrtionS of the temptcr and other evil
dence, to be counterfeit.
One morning he was missing, and I
learned that he had left on an Eastern
train.
How | cXtricatcd myself from the
difficult position in which was placed,
through lack of funds, need not be re.
lated further than to state that | raised
money enough to leave the place by
pawning Il valuable society pin, the
badge Of a college fraternity.
VI.
One day, during the war, while rid.
ing along the lines between Shiloh ant
Hamburg, | came across a suffers ten
and d%ismounted to get some thing tC
, quench my thirst. There was man in
, side whom ! at once recognized rs my
| old AIioh;S~,. .~-s,:-t- - ntou III
| denied knowing me, but at length ad
1 mitted that he was the man.
t "How is the gold business, and tn,
: old man up in the depths of the wilder
ness in the peninsula; and are you still
t pushing the double caglcs?'
l. "Oh, all that be blamed!' was his an
: swer.
What do you mcan?"
care you II fool? Haven't you tun
i bled to my racket up in Michigan?'
81 can't say that | have even yet
What was it, anyhow
you must be the biggest fool in or,
C %ation!' he answered, with II look {
contempt. "Honcst, now, don't yo
V know what | was up to?'
"Honcst, now, | don't. What VIZ
ID it?'
"Well, by Jupiter, that beats m
Is III tell you, although it doesn't see
n possible that any nan with II pinch
a. sense would have failed to have q,
onto my work. AT that time Michigg
II was flooded with counterfeit none
ii especially along the line of the Micl
lie gan Central railway. You came
he town an entire stranger, and we
c. looked on with suspicion. was in II
he secret service and was sent down
he look you over"
a "And the bogus money!"
I'd "All genuine Government coin.
course the bank found no fault with it
at ''And the venerable antiquarian up
ne the woods?'
III "Only n blind. I'll be plain wi
IT. you. ! intended to get you to 90 in
a the business of showing the queer.
tie you had agreed to it should have SC,
he that you got a supply, and as Don
or you had started in this business | shou
no have pinched you. And then the co
b. sequences would have been that Y,
now would be serving about your four
7 year in the pc~nitentiary."
Ms / was enlightened. When think
my position at that time, the Undue
70 ments offered by the consciencclC
Il. scoundrcl, and all the surroundings
he the case, | some times wonder that
am not in the p~cnitentiary.
| gave my old Michigan friend
"a. piece of my mind in the most vchcme
NV and blasphemous English at my col
IN mand and then rode away. will n
that all stated in this sketch are IN,
nd in my own personal experience a
inf took place exactly as stated.-Pohu
in Chjc01O Times.